A mammoth $300 billion investment is currently lined up in Hydrogen projects globally that is set to materialize by 2030. Of this, projects entailing investment of $80 billion is already in mature stage, according to a new report.

The report “Hydrogen Insights 2021: A Perspective on Hydrogen Investment, Deployment and Cost Competitiveness” released by Hydrogen Council in collaboration with McKinsey & Company shows over 30 countries have released hydrogen roadmaps and governments have committed public funding for hydrogen technologies.

Globally, 228 large-scale projects have been announced with 85 per cent located in Europe, Asia, and Australia. These include large-scale industrial usage, transport applications, integrated hydrogen economy, infrastructure, and giga-scale production projects.

"If all announced projects come to fruition, total investments will reach more than $300 billion in spending through 2030. Of this investment $80 billion can currently be considered mature," the report said.

Mature projects are those which are in the planning stage, have passed a final investment decision (FID), or are under construction, already commissioned, or operational.

The report confirms that – from a total cost of ownership (TCO) perspective – Hydrogen can become the most competitive low-carbon solution in more than 20 applications by 2030, including long haul trucking, shipping and steel.

Deployment of Hydrogen projects through three cluster types is already gaining traction: Industrial centres that support refining, power generation, and fertiliser and steel production; export hubs in resource-rich countries; and port areas for fuel bunkering, port logistics, and transportation.

The reduced costs from clusters will enable global trade in hydrogen, connecting future major demand centres such as Japan, South Korea, and the European Union to regions of abundant low-cost hydrogen production means like the Middle East, North Africa, South America, or Australia, according to the report.